Welcoming Speech [English
translation]
Mr. Jeffrey Lam, JP, Chairman, Ad hoc Quality
Taxi Services Steering Committee, Hong Kong
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Mr. Robert Footman, Mrs. Miriam Lau, Mr. Tsang,
Mr. Ho, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to be invited to officiate
at the Opening Ceremony of the Quality Taxi
Services Forum today.
As we all know, taxi plays a unique and important
role in public transport. It provides citizens
and tourists with personalised point-to-point
transport service. Whether a taxi passenger
would have a happy and satisfactory trip depends
on the services provided by the taxi driver.
In order to meet the expectation of the passengers
and to enhance the image of Hong Kong as a
metropolitan city, the taxi trade should endeavour
to make continuous improvements.
In order to improve the quality of taxi services
in Hong Kong, the Ad Hoc Quality Taxi Services
Steering Committee was established in mid-1999
by the Transport Department. I am honoured
to be appointed a chairman of the Committee,
working together with representatives from
the taxi trade, District Councils, Hong Kong
Tourist Association, Consumer Council as well
as Transport Department and Transport Bureau
to improve the quality of taxi services. In
the past one and half-year, the Steering Committee,
with the support of the taxi trade and Transport
Department, has successfully implemented a
series of quality taxi services projects.
I wish to take this opportunity to share with
you our achievements.
To encourage taxi drivers to provide quality
taxi services, we have launched two taxi driver
award schemes in last year, in which 500 taxi
drivers were awarded for providing quality
services to citizens, tourists and passengers
with disabilities. As the two schemes were
found to be successful, the Steering Committee
plans to launch a Taxi Driver Condemnation
Scheme in 2001, in order to promote the taxi
drivers' spirit of providing quality taxi
services.
To strengthen communication between the government
and the taxi trade, Transport Department has
taken up the co-ordinating role in publishing
a quarterly taxi newsletter since early 2000.
50,000 copies are published for each edition
of the newsletter, which are distributed to
taxi drivers free of charge through various
channels and taxi associations. The newsletter,
which has increased in content is well received
by the taxi trade. The latest edition was
just published 2 days ago. You can find a
copy in the forum folder. I would appreciate
if you would let me have your valuable comments
on this edition.
To provide better taxi services to passengers
with visual impairment under the sponsorship
of Crown Motors Limited and other taxi suppliers,
all liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) taxis are
now installed with a Braille and tactile taxi
registration number plate. This enables passengers
with visual impairment to identify the taxi
and facilitate them in making complaints,
suggestions as well as praising taxi drivers
for this good service. To our understanding,
Hong Kong is the first city to install Braille
and tactile taxi registration number plates
inside taxi compartments. Furthermore, with
the support and assistance of Transport Department,
over 300 taxi owners have installed taxi meters
with talking functions on their LPG taxis.
The new taxi meters are able to say "Welcome",
"Thank you", as well as to tell the taxi's
registration number and the total fare charged
for the trip in Cantonese, Putonghua and English.
The new function not only improves customer
services but also prevents passengers with
visual impairment from being overcharged by
taxi drivers.
To promote training for taxi drivers, the
Steering Committee has made a number of recommendations
to Transport Department. To implement the
recommendations of the Transport Advisory
Committee in the "Review on Taxi Licensing
System", Transport Department is now designing
a comprehensive training course for the applicants
for taxi driving licences as well as in service
taxi drivers to improve their attitude and
skills. The course content will include customer
services skills, basic language skills, safe
driving habits as well as taxi regulations.
Before introduction of this training course,
the Steering Committee and Transport Department
have produced a "Workplace English and Putonghua
Programme" for taxi drivers in November 2000
under the sponsorship of the Workplace English
Campaign Steering Committee. The package which
would enable taxi drivers to communicate with
passengers in simple English and Putonghua,
was distributed to the taxi drivers free of
charge. It was well received by the taxi trade.
In the past month or so, Transport Department
has already distributed almost 40,000 sets
of the package to taxi drivers.
In the past year, the Steering Committee
has implemented a number of quality taxi services
projects. In the coming year, we will continue
to publish the taxi service newsletter as
well as a new edition of "a guide to Taxi
Services in Hong Kong". Furthermore, we will
also launch a new "Taxi Commendation Scheme".
As the taxi driver award schemes in last year
proved to be a great encouragement to taxi
drivers, we now plan to implement a "Taxi
Driver Commendation Scheme" which will provide
an on-going channel for taxi passengers to
commend good taxi drivers. Under this scheme,
taxi passengers can express their appreciation
for outstanding taxi drivers through pre-determined
channels like Hong Kong Police force, Transport
Complaints Unit, Hong Kong Tourist Association,
Hong Kong Airport Authority and organisations
representing the people with disabilities.
The Quality Taxi Service Forum today is a
prologue to the various quality taxi services
projects to be implemented in the coming year.
This forum is the first of its kind in Hong
Kong. On behalf of the Steering Committee,
I welcome representatives from Singapore,
Japan, Macau, Shanghai and Shanzhen, and speakers
from Hong Kong Police Force, Creative Star
and Hong Kong Polytechnic University to this
forum, to share with us their experience in
improving taxi services and to probe into
new ideas of quality taxi services. As I have
said at the beginning of this speech, whether
taxi services in Hong Kong could meet passengers'
expectation depends very much on the support
and participation by the taxi trade. I therefore
urge representatives of the trade to make
use of this opportunity to learn the experience,
characteristics of operation and application
of new technologies from their overseas counterparts.
On behalf of the Steering Committee, I would
like to thank Crown Motors Limited and Dao
Heng Finance Limited for their generous sponsorship
for this Forum. I hope more commercial firms
will actively sponsor and support quality
taxi service projects in future as an effort
to improve taxi services in Hong Kong and
to enhance the image of Hong Kong as a world-class
metropolitan city.
Lastly, I sincerely wish the Quality Taxi
Services Forum a great success.
Thank you.
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